Larry Moore shares details of his speaking engagements

As you probably know, I receive lots of requests from organizations, civic groups, and community gatherings to give talks at their meetings. I am always thrilled to try to oblige on a first come-first serve basis. Many I have to say no to because of schedule conflicts.

My big beautiful dog, my big lovable yellow Lab we call Colin, turns 13 years old this month. He will be irreplaceable. There is no dog anywhere with the characteristics or the experiences of "Colin Dog."

With a foot of snow on the ground, I picked up my copy of the newsletter for the Greater Kansas City Gardeners of America on Thursday. It was the eve of March. The newsletter outlined in clear fashion the things we should be doing to be ready for the gardening season. I started realizing I am running behind this year.

Two questions are common. Do you have a fee? No. I give talks as a free public service to the community. It's a practice I began more than 40 years ago and I don't intend to stop now. The second question pertains to topic. I usually ask if they have a specific topic. And many ask me to tell them what I'd like to speak about.

I present four general topics. The first is "A Personal Perspective of Kansas City TV News History." As someone who has covered the city for more than 40 years, there are few people more qualified to discuss the historical progression of the media from its early beginnings to the incredible technology of today.

I always like to discuss "The Dream Factory: A Labor of Love." I was co-founder of the Dream Factory in Kansas City nearly 30 years ago. There are so many incredible stories of sick and disabled youngsters getting their wishes I love to share their stories of survival and success.

Gardening is my favorite hobby. So, it's only natural I love to talk about growing things here in the difficult challenges of the Midwest. I love to focus on tomatoes because there is no better way of getting involved in growing things than by growing tomatoes. There is nothing that compares to a red-ripe homegrown tomato from your own garden.

As most of you know, I am a cancer survivor. More than 20 years ago, I went through the challenge of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It truly was the biggest challenge of my life. I have given countless talks on this subject in the past two decades, "How to Enhance Your Chances of Surviving Cancer."

"Raising Five Kids in the Glare of the Television Spotlight," is another favorite subject. Usually my wife, Ruth, joins me in this humorous presentation. It's a subject that can give you a raucous laugh or two when you really don't want to be serious. I like to weave humor in all of my presentations, but as someone famous once said, "Kids Say the Darndest Things."

I hope you'll invite me out to your gathering. I know it's difficult to get on the schedule because of so many requests, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Hillary Clinton's office said "nothing nefarious was at play" when the former secretary of state used her personal email address, rather than one provided by the State Department, during her four years as America's top diplomat.